Free Casualties of Love by Denise Riley

Marcus just gave her a blank look. She chuffed. “You guys are close, huh?” She stopped to observe him with a cocked head. He faced her full on.
    “He’s my best friend. And, now that Lassiter is gone, Tyson is pretty much my only family.”
    “You don’t have family?” She gave him a look of surprise, and Marcus was actually a bit shocked he’d said the words to her.
    “None that I’m close to.”
    “I can relate,” she said softly, but didn’t elaborate.
    “What do you want from him, Jessica?”
    “Just to spend time with him; just to make sure he’s ok. I don’t want anything.”
    “Not even to reconnect?” he asked gently.
    Jessica squared her jaw. Marcus thought she might ignore the query, but surmised her true feelings for Tyson when she spoke again.
    “He said he’s moved on, so I don’t know if that’s possible.” Her voice was low and controlled.
    “Maybe he said that because he’s afraid you’ll walk out again.”
    “You can’t walk out on someone who doesn’t care if you to stay.”
    She turned and started moving again. Marcus followed. He supposed that Jessica had a point, but he was certain she was in error about Tyson having moved on. Maybe the guy thought he had moved on. Marcus even knew why Tyson thought that way, but wasn’t convinced that was truly the case. Not the way he had reacted to seeing Jessica, and not the way Tyson seemed to need her come around as much as she seemed to need to check on him. Beyond those things, Marcus has witnessed that kiss they’d shared. There was a whole lot of something between those two – whether unresolved or newly developing or some blending of both. At any rate, it didn’t look like anyone had moved on. Marcus hoped that whatever was going down it didn’t cause more harm that good.
     
    ******
                  Tyson looked up to see Marcus enter his room at the infirmary with Jessica. He raised a brow at seeing them together. They both appeared somewhat in thought. He wondered what had happened.
                  “Hey,” he said to them both. He got the same in return. “You two ok?”
                  “Yep,” Marcus said and took a seat in the chair near the foot of Tyson’s bed. He grabbed up an old magazine and started flipping pages.
                  Tyson looked at Jessica, who gave him a small smile. He assumed it was to indicate that everything was fine. He was glad to see Jessica, but was disappointed she wasn’t alone. He’d been hoping to see her today. Just as he’d hope the day before and the one before that.
                  “I only stopped by to check on you real quick,” she said. “Thought I’d take a look at your wound if they already haven’t.”
                  “One of the doctors came in about a hour ago. Said it’s all good,” Tyson told her.
    “Oh. Well, that’s good. I don’t have to poke and prod you then,” she said softly.
    He let his gaze flow over Jessica. She was casually dressed, not in uniform. Her hair was loose and it made her look softer, utterly feminine. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, giving her a healthy glow. He could see her breasts pushing against the fabric of her shirt, but didn’t let his eyes linger there. It only made him want to put his hands on her. They hadn’t touched since he’d kissed her days ago. Not really. A few grazes of flesh here and there, but that was all. Some of them were accidental; others he orchestrated to appear accidental. He wanted to touch her now, so he reached for her hand.
    She let him take hold of her and pull her closer to the side of the bed. She moved to sit beside him. Tyson knew he shouldn’t but he put his hand on her leg and rubbed along her thigh.  Jessica cleared her throat.
    “Are you feeling ok? Any pain?” she asked.
    “Nope. I’m good. There a twinge every so often, but nothing major. They keep me evened out. Looks like you’ve got down time